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Red
750ml
Bottle: $189.94
The 1998 Calon-Ségur, blended of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, is deep...
12 FREE
WA
93
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $81.94
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $1189.08 $1321.20
A blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot, the 1998 Lafite Rothschild is deep garnet with a hint of brick and...
12 FREE
WA
96
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $221.58 $246.20
Not a great vintage (very hot August, rain in the last half of September), but the Merlot was luscious and wines made...
12 FREE
DC
92
WA
90
Red
750ml
Bottle: $128.95
6 bottles: $126.37
The first vintage for the Dillon family, who purchased this estate in 1997, the 1998 Château Nenin is a sexy, ripe,...
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WS
92
JD
92
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $57.70
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $85.35
What I would describe as a classic Margaux, the 1998 Chateau Cantenac Brown reveals a mature yet healthy ruby hue...
JD
89
WA
88
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $1239.91
The reference chateau of the vintage, this wine is showing its class here and then some. It was the first year with...
DC
100
WA
100
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $198.95
WS
91
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $60.95
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $90.11
A sleeper of the vintage, this excellent Du Tertre is reminiscent of this estate's fine 1979. Sweet aromas of black...
WA
89
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $250.53
The 1998 vintage is still vibrant and fresh with plum, black berries, mint aromas with leather and rose petal notes...
DC
93
VM
92
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $99.95
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Red
1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle: $199.94
The colour is red with brick at the rim. The bouquet is attractively mature with cedar, tobacco and forest floor...
DC
92
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $139.94
Tasted at the château, the 1998 Grand-Puy-Lacoste has really developed in commendable fashion in recent years. It...
WA
92
VM
91
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $662.96
Still incredibly youthful and sporting a lot of fruit, the deep garnet-brick colored 1998 Haut-Brion sashays out of...
WA
99
WS
97
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $61.53
Case only
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $92.95
Case only
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $468.06
This is really classic in style with incredible depth and power. Muscular and amazing, it is full-bodied yet tight...
JS
99
JD
98
Case only
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $796.79
A blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot, the 1998 Lafite Rothschild is deep garnet with a hint of brick and...
WA
96

Ice Wine Melon de Bourgogne Red Bordeaux 1998

One of the more unusual French grape varietals, Melon de Bourgogne has been grown in and around the Loire Valley for several hundred years. In fact, this grape was first planted in the Loire region of Pays Nantais back in the mid 17th century, after a devastating frost decimated most of the red grapes which were typical in the area. The winemakers of Pays Nantais were keen to cultivate vines which were hardy, high yielding, and capable of surviving another such frost, and so turned their attention to Melon de Bourgogne for this very reason. The native home of the varietal is actually in Burgundy, where it is still grown to a lesser extent.


Because Melon de Bourgogne produces naturally heavy yields, the vintners of Pays Nantais go to great lengths to reduce the amount of fruit the vines bear. This allows the finest characteristics of the grape to come forward, and also opens up the opportunity for it to express the wonderful granite and schist soils in which the vines are grown. Melon de Bourgogne is a minerally white wine grape varietal, with a very subtle set of fruit flavors. It is prized for its freshness and brightness, and is seeing a revival in the twenty first century as an excellent wine for pairing with a wide range of foods.

There are few regions in the world with stricter regulations in regards to wine production and grape varietals than those found in Bordeaux, France. Here, in the home of the world's finest wines, the type and quality of grapes used is of utmost importance, and the legendary wineries which work on the banks of the Gironde river have mastered the careful art of juice blending to find the perfect balance for their produce. Whilst there are six 'official' Bordeaux grapes, the two key varietals for almost every fine Bordeaux wine are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and with good reason. Whilst Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are renowned for their acidity and astringency, strong fruit and spice flavors and full body, Merlot grapes are notably rounded, soft, fleshy and lighter on tannin. The combination of these two varietals, along with a small percentage of (commonly) Petit Verdot or Cabernet Franc, is the perfect balancing act – the two grape varietals cancel out each others weaker points, and accentuate all that is good about the other.